Noise floor became awfully louder all of a sudden while recording music.

Question

Level 1

8 points

Noise floor became awfully louder all of a sudden while recording music.

Awhile ago, I would be able to record my vocals without any noise bothering me; even if I turn the gain up on my audio interface. However, after a few months, as I was recording, I noticed that the noise floor got significantly louder. I tried to just tolerate it while I was doing my recordings, but it was extremely bothersome and noticeable in the sessions. I would just turn on the phantom power and increase the gain on the audio interface and the noise would be incredibly loud. The noise is kind of like the wind-blowing noise you hear when talking on the phone with someone who is outside on a windy day.

I have a very simple set up:

MacBook Pro 13-inch, 2017, four Thunderbolt 3 ports. MacOS Mojave Version 10.14.4
Audient ID4 audio interface
Bluebird condenser microphone
Logic Pro X 10.3.2

I thought it was all in my head. But when I went back to compare the noise that I am currently hearing to my old sessions before I noticed the noises, there was a HUGE difference. It is strange because back then, the mic and audio interface I was using were a lot more underdeveloped compared to what I have now. So I tried testing our my old mic and interface; and I heard the same loud and annoying noise.

I got my bluebird condenser microphone checked and it was perfectly fine. The tech person even demonstrated how clean the sound was on the microphone with his audio interface and computer. I even tested it out at my friends home studio and our recordings were really clean.

So I got a new audio interface. Same result, loud and annoying wind-type noises.

I replaced the cables and the usb-c adapter. Same thing.

The only thing that has not been replaced was the Macbook.

It has been 3 months and I did everything in my power in order to make this equation less troubling before posting it. On top of that, I have a very simple recording set up; so the answer should not be too hard to find. If you took the time to read this, I really appreciate it; If you have any ideas, please help me out.

MacBook

Posted on Jul 31, 2019 3:17 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Pancenter

Level 6

14,698 points

Aug 4, 2019 8:49 AM in response to YoungJodecii

Don't worry about posting the graphic.

Here's a few thing's to try. Open Up Logic's Preferences/Audio, you should see Input and Output device. make sure they are set to the Audio interface, set the I/O Buffer to 128, set Multimedia threading to "Playback Tracks".

Disconnect every external device from the computer except what you need to record.

Turn off Wi-fi and Bluetooth in system preferences.

Be careful with Phantom Power, it should generally be Off for 20 seconds before unplugging a microphone and should not be ON when plugging in a microphone.

Reply

Answer 2

Pancenter

Level 6

14,698 points

Aug 7, 2019 6:20 PM in response to YoungJodecii

Quite a difference, see graphics below. Couple of questions... what kind of microphone were you using before, and the old audio interface?

In Logic's Preferences/Audio do you have the Audient interface selected as both the Input and the Output device?. Are the speakers Headphones plugged in the Audient? If it's a 2 channel interface is the unused channel turned all the way off? Are you using the same operating system for each of these examples?

Low noise floor after normalizing to 70% (this in Sony Soundforge on my PC I use for mastering)

High Noise Floor after normalizing to 70%

Reply

Answer 3

YoungJodecii Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2019 4:10 PM in response to Pancenter

For sure, I attached the screenshots.

I tried plugging in my headphones to the Audient ID4 and setting up the output on logic to the interface (I attached a screenshot for when I did that). However, it seems that the vocal becomes so much more quieter that the annoying noise. And when I turn the mic gain down enough to where the noise becomes tolerable, the vocal is like silent. Hopefully that makes sense.

I do not have the 2020 anymore, but I do not think the mic is the problem because I had it checked and tested out on different interfaces.

Reply

Answer 4

Pancenter

Level 6

14,698 points

Jul 31, 2019 4:51 PM in response to YoungJodecii

Perhaps you're recording with a compressor or a limiter ob the track or master bus.

if you are it's a mistake for your use as it's an effect that's not recorded, you may hear the compression (or possibly a limiter) but it is not recorded. If not a compressor-limiter, perhaps another plugin. Try going in dry no plugins anywhere.

Reply

Answer 5

YoungJodecii Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 4, 2019 7:27 AM in response to Pancenter

Hi thanks for the reply. I am not recording with any effects at all. What will happen is that I will open up a brand new session, and as soon as I turn up the gain on the audio interface the loud noise starts to get super loud. Even when there is only 1 track with nothing else going on, as soon as I turn on the interface the noise gets louder and louder as I turn up the gain.

Reply

Answer 6

Aug 4, 2019 9:11 AM in response to YoungJodecii

It would be very helpful if we could inspect the noise you're recording. So please post an example of such a recording. The way you describe it, it doesn't sound like interference that you could get from a broken USB port or similar causes. There are two possible sources that may be worth investigating.

First, make sure your microphone is not picking up your Laptop's fan noise. The noise of the fan is easily loud enough to be recorded by a microphone close to the laptop, and it would also increase over the time of the recording if the CPU is being stressed. To avoid fan noise you should make sure that the air slots of your Laptop are not blocked and that there is nothing running in the background that heats up your machine.

Second, inspect your recording signal chain that is realised by software. Are there any plugins running, any sound routing/alteration tools, any output processors, etc? In particular, any tools that are running on a trial license that may inject noise from time to time? It's really hard to guess what it could be without having the machine for inspection, but there are enough possible ways of interference on this level.

If you say your Laptop is the only remaining factor, then try to find out if the problem also exists with a clean installation, in case none of the two options above provided a solution. Boot a clean OS from an external medium and make a test recording. If the issue persists, then it's a lot more likely that it is a hardware issue. But I highly doubt it is.

Cheers,

Jazz

Reply

Answer 7

YoungJodecii Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 7, 2019 5:20 PM in response to Jazzmaniac

Hey sorry for my late reply, I had a lot of exams to finish for school but I still really need to solve this issue so thank you so much for your suggestions. I cannot find a way to upload the audio files so you can hear the sounds I am experiencing so I sent a link to a forum I posted on. On my post I uploaded 2 audio files; one was a recording from before when there was no noise, the second audio file is from roughly a month ago when the noise started to emerge. Sorry for not being able to give you direct access but

With regards to your first suggestion, I do not think it is the laptop fan because I am recording far away and I tested different proximities and tried to record in rooms separated from the laptop. Also, the fan does not make much noise on my laptop.

In terms of your second suggestion, even where there are no plugins running I hear the noise. Even when I just open up a fresh new session with nothing on it, as soon as I turn up the gain on the interface the noise just starts getting super loud. If you are referring to things like "free trials" I do not have any tools like that; everything is on the full version.

In regards of your last suggestion, what do you mean by "clean installation" and how can I do that? I am willing to do anything at this point, but I really do not want to mess anything up in the process by doing it wrong. And what do you mean by "Boot a clean OS from an external medium?" Sorry for not understanding fully.

Link to sound files (My name on this forum is OmarDicaprio):

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/newbie-audio-engineering-production-question-zone/1274313-loud-buzzing-static-noises-ruining-everything.html#post14131894

I really appreciate you helping me out.

Reply

Answer 8

YoungJodecii Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2019 9:13 AM in response to Pancenter

Hey there,

Thank you so much for helping me with this problem and sorry for the late response I just finished up my projects for the summer so now I can focus on fixing this noise issue and hopefully get back to recording music.

So before I was using a AT2020 (XLR, NOT USB) and the Behringer U-Phoria UM2 audio interface. Then I upgraded to the Bluebird and still kept using the same Behringer audio interface; and there was no annoying noise yet. Then I upgraded the audio interface to a Focusrite Scarlett Solo; and I still had no annoying noise yet. Then after like 4 days, mid-way through a recording session, the noise just got super loud. The mic is perfectly fine and clean (checked by an audio educated person). I replaced everything and got the Audient ID4; however, I still had the same noise issue.

The headphones I am using is plugged into the computer and the DI gain knob is turned down all the way (there is no switch, only a gain knob).

In both of the examples I was using the same laptop; Macbook Pro.

Hopefully I answered all of your questions and thank you again.

Reply

Answer 9

Pancenter

Level 6

14,698 points

Aug 11, 2019 12:38 PM in response to YoungJodecii

I wish you could upload a screenshot of Logic's Preferences/Audio Devices tab and the General tab.

And you should be monitoring through the Audio Interface, see how my system is setup with the Audio Interface as both the Input and Output device. Do you still have the 2020, try it. (although I think you may already have)

Reply

Answer 10

YoungJodecii Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2019 4:14 PM in response to YoungJodecii

I just want to add; when I plug my headphones into the computer, the noise is still there and annoying as ever, however I can hear my voice enough that I am able to battle with the noise.

Also, the Audient ID4 a 3.5mm and 1/4 inch headphone input. I am only able to plug into the 3.5mm one. In order to test out the 1/4 inch, I will need to buy an adapter or something. I can do that tomorrow if you think it will help?

Reply